Behind the scenes

Director: John Lee Hancock

Producer: Walt Disney Films and BBC films

Cast: Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Bradley Whitford, Annie Rose Buckley, Ruth Wilson, B.J. Novak, Rachel Griffiths, Kathy Baker and Colin Farrell

Release Date: February 7

When Walt Disney’s (Tom Hanks) daughters asked him to make a film of their favorite book – Mary Poppins; he didn’t realise that it would take him 20 years to fulfill his promise. Disney faces an uncompromising writer, P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), who has absolutely no intention of  selling the rights of her book. But faced with a financial crunch, Travers reluctantly agrees to allow her book to be adapted into a film.

The buzz

For the Disneyland sequences, Disney blocked off certain parts of the theme park for a couple of days. The park’s cast members were also hired as extras in the film.